ELVT

Free guide from ELVT

Breathe Move Feel

A free daily practice from me, AJ Londono, for anyone who feels stiff from sitting, a bit sore, stressed out, or out of touch with their own body. One breath drill, one movement sequence & one check-in, on 8 short pages made to read on your phone.

Get the free guide (PDF)

You don't need an email or an account, and there's nothing to buy. It opens in Google Drive, or you can grab the direct download (PDF, about 330 KB).

Found this address in The Call to Elevate? Welcome. This page and the guide are written for the grown-ups, so try it yourself first & then share the parts that fit with your kids.

Who it's for

Is this for you?

I wrote this for the person who's been sitting for most of the day (or most of the last few years), whose back or hips or neck have started to talk, and who honestly isn't sure where to begin. Maybe you used to be active and life got busy, or the gym never really felt like your place. Or maybe you've been feeling a little disconnected lately, from your body, from people, or both, and you can't quite name why.

  • You feel stiff, sore or tight after long days at a desk or in the car.
  • You haven't exercised in a while & a full program feels like too much right now.
  • Stress lives in your shoulders, your jaw or your breath.
  • You've been feeling lonely or out of sync, and you'd like a small, honest place to start that doesn't ask you to be anyone else first.

You don't need equipment, special clothes or any experience. The guide works in 5 minutes or an hour, and the intention you bring to it matters more than the clock.

The idea behind it

The pathway before fitness

Most advice for getting back in shape hands you a program on day one. Programs assume you already know where you're starting from, and most of us don't. We've been sitting for years, something aches, and we feel a little alone in it.

So I like to start one step earlier. Before you load anything, connect with yourself: notice how you breathe, how you move, and how those two change the way you feel. Get honest (and kind) about where you actually are today. Then pick what to build on top of it, whether that's a class, a sport, a skill like rope flow, or a long walk with a friend. That's what I mean by the pathway before fitness, and this guide is the first few steps of it.

Connection starts with you

I believe connection starts with self. Before you can understand someone else, you gotta understand yourself, and for me that begins with the breath & the body. Do the practice once and it's a nice moment. Do it again and again (that's the Load in Explore, Load, Vanquish, Tune) and you start to recognize yourself, and then you start to recognize that same stuff in the people around you. So if you've been feeling a little alone lately, start small, start with one breath, and when you're ready, come move with other humans.

What's inside

8 pages, one daily practice

The whole guide runs on the four ELVT phases, the same ones I use for learning any skill:

  • Explore
  • Load
  • Vanquish
  • Tune

  1. Start here

    ELVT as a map for how humans breathe, move and feel, plus the three ideas that carry the practice: awareness without judgment, think less & feel more, and how you do one thing is how you do everything.

  2. Breathe: the ELVT breath

    A short breath drill that walks through all four phases, from simply noticing your breath, to slowing it & deepening it, to letting go of one place of tension on each exhale.

  3. Move: build a body map

    A joint by joint sequence (neck, shoulders, arms, a slow forward fold, spinal rotations, then hips, knees, ankles and toes) with your breath as the metronome. Then a first look at the five patterns everything else rests on: squat, hinge, push, pull and rotate.

  4. Feel: tune in

    One question, "How at home do you feel in your body right now?", answered with a number from 1 to 10 (there's no right answer). Then a quick Mind, Breath, Heart, Body scan, and the idea of mind currency: your attention as a jar of 100 coins, and where you're spending it today.

  5. Your daily practice

    The whole thing on one page you can screenshot, with a little Monday to Sunday tracker for the week.

  6. Keep going & the full map

    A few ways to go further when you want to, like rope flow, Flow Social, a call with me, or the Human Guide. Nothing you need in order to use the practice.

Get the free guide (PDF)

Try a minute of it now

Start with one breath

Here's the opening of the breath drill (adapted from page 3), so you can feel what this is like before you download anything:

  1. Sit or stand. Soften the jaw and drop the shoulders.
  2. Notice the breath coming in and going out, and don't change it yet.
  3. Notice the room, your position & whatever thoughts show up, and let them be there without judging them.

From there the guide takes you through slowing the breath down, deepening it (in through the nose, out through the mouth) and then letting the exercise go.

A quick, honest note

I'm a movement coach, not a doctor or therapist. This practice is gentle on purpose, so move within what feels good for your body. If you have pain that's sharp, getting worse, or comes with numbness, tingling or other symptoms, please see a medical professional first. If you're struggling emotionally or thinking about harming yourself, please reach out to a professional or, in the US, call or text 988. The guide is general education, not medical advice.

AJ Londono smiling, wearing an ELVT cap and a headset mic

Who wrote it

Hi, I'm AJ Londono

Coach · Consultant · Adventure Guide

I've been coaching humans since 2010. These days I'm in Boca Raton, FL, where I coach classes & do personal training at Gravity and Oxygen, and I'm also their Creative Director. ELVT is the map I put together from all those years on the floor: how we breathe, how we move, and how that changes the way we feel.

I made this guide free because I want anyone to be able to start, wherever they're starting from. You'll find me as @flowwithaj on Instagram and X, and everything ELVT lives at elvt.me.

Questions people ask me

Common questions

My back hurts from sitting all day. What should I do first?

Start gently, with your breath and a little movement. Stand (or sit tall), soften your jaw, drop your shoulders and take a few slow breaths, then circle each joint from your neck down to your hips, knees and ankles, letting the breath set the pace. That's the body map in the free guide, and it's a kind way to find where you're tight (hips included) without forcing anything. Move within what feels good for your body, and if the pain is sharp, getting worse, or comes with numbness or tingling, please see a medical professional first.

I haven't exercised in years. Where do I start?

Start with where you actually are today, which is a lot more useful than where you think you should be. Before you sign up for a program, spend a few days with the free guide: one breath drill, one movement sequence and one check-in, for 5 minutes or as long as you like. The check-in asks how at home you feel in your body on a scale of 1 to 10, and that number is your starting point. Once you know it, choosing what comes next (a class, a sport, a skill, a coach) gets a lot easier.

I feel stressed and tense all the time. Is there a quick way to calm down?

The quickest tool I know is your own breath, because you always have it with you. Slow it down, pause for a moment after the inhale and after the exhale, breathe in through your nose & out through your mouth like you're blowing out a candle, and let go of one spot of tension every time you breathe out. That's the Load part of the ELVT breath in the guide, and a few rounds at your desk can help you feel calmer. If stress is starting to run your days, please talk with a professional too.

I've been feeling lonely and disconnected. What does breathing have to do with that?

For me they're closely linked. I believe connection starts with self, because before you can understand someone else, you gotta understand yourself. A few minutes noticing your breath, your body and how you feel is a way of showing up for yourself, and over time you start to recognize those same things in the people around you. When you're ready, come move with other humans (Flow Social and the events on elvt.me are where I do that). And if you're really struggling, please reach out to a friend or a professional, or in the US call or text 988.

Do I have to give my email to get the guide?

No. The download button goes straight to the PDF, with no email and no account. If you'd like an occasional note from me, there's an optional email box further down this page, and it's for adults only.

Optional, for grown-ups

Want an occasional note from me?

This part is completely optional, and the guide is yours either way. Leave your email and now and then I'll send a note with a practice, an event, or something I've been learning. The list is for adults (18 and over), so parents, this one's for you. Kids, you don't need to sign up for anything here.

You can unsubscribe anytime, right from the bottom of any email.

When you want more

Where to go next

No rush on any of this. If the daily practice clicks and you'd like to go deeper, here's where I'd look.